"Why do I hear a different story from you all?"
Xi Que, dressed in inconspicuous civilian girl attire, spoke loudly: "My aunt works in the imperial palace washing chamber pots for the noble ladies. She said it's because the owner of this shop is unscrupulous, taking advantage of the delicate skin of the young ladies from the capital, and deliberately selling them fake goods. One of the ladies wore their clothes and broke out in a rash, too ashamed to show her face, so she quietly left. Those waiting outside thought she had disappeared, which is why they are searching everywhere."
"So it was a false alarm! The owner is really daring to sell fake goods to these noble ladies. He can't afford to offend them."
Shuang Jiang agreed: "That's right, that's what I heard too. I also heard that the noble lady went back and complained, and now her family has come to settle the score."
"Oh! So it was just a rumor! I really thought someone had disappeared out of thin air here! It was quite frightening."
"Exactly! Who spread that rumor? It's too much, they're clearly trying to ruin someone's reputation. How wicked."
The Pei family members who were mingling in the crowd were originally tasked with spreading rumors to ruin the reputation of the Jiang family women.
But now, the Imperial Noble Consort had also thought of this tactic and planted many people among the common folk to turn the tide, so they dared not speak out against it.
If caught and revealed to be servants of the Pei family, the Minister of the Secretariat would surely silence them.
In the back courtyard of the shop—
The shopkeeper, beaten half to death, knelt on the ground, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth: "Ouch—you... who exactly are you? You've trespassed into my home, I'm going to report you to the authorities."
"Report to the authorities?"
Jiang Xinyue waved her hand: "The newly appointed Governor of Qin Province, the Grand Court of Judicial Review, and the Vice Minister of Justice are all here. Tell me... which authority do you want to report to?"
The shopkeeper's eyes widened: "You... you..."
"Smack!"
Xiao Xiangzi kicked the shopkeeper in the back of the shoulder, sending him sprawling to the ground: "Bold commoner, addressing the Imperial Noble Consort with such familiarity, beware, I might just rip out your tongue."
"Imperial... Imperial Noble Consort?"
No one had told him that he had offended the Imperial Noble Consort!
Jiang Xinyue ignored the shopkeeper and pointed her sword at the waiter who had been kicked away: "You have one chance to tell me where the girl you knocked out today is hidden."
The waiter trembled, looking at the shopkeeper who was beaten to a pulp: "I... I know nothing."
"Ah!"
Jiang Xinyue swung her sword, slashing the waiter's throat, and his body fell straight to the ground, unable to believe he had died so easily.
The Imperial Noble Consort's decisive actions were bloody, but no one felt the waiter was innocent.
This clothing store had such a "filthy" fitting room; it was impossible that the shopkeeper and the waiter were unaware.
Jiang Yuncai had someone to stand up for her, so the shopkeeper was caught. What about the other victims, the girls without connections and backgrounds? Where were they sold?
Seeing Jiang Xinyue kill without blinking, the shopkeeper nearly wet his pants.
He engaged in the business of human trafficking, but he had never killed anyone!
The blood-stained sword tip pressed against the shopkeeper's nose, the strong metallic smell making him dizzy.
Then came the cold voice of the female demon: "It's your turn. Choose between life and death."
The shopkeeper trembled, his eyes darting frantically, searching for a familiar protector.
Those his eyes met with, feeling guilty, lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
What a joke?
The Imperial Noble Consort was the only concubine in the harem who dared to kill in front of everyone. She had her own backing; who would dare to oppose her?
"Not speaking?"
Jiang Xinyue raised her sword high: "Then what use do I have for you? I'll use your head to honor my cousin."
"Swish!"
"I'll... I'll talk... I'll talk!"
Who interrogates like this?
One wrong word and they kill you, at least ask a few more questions!
"At... at Yihong Tower, you have to hurry, or it'll be too late."
In the city of Qin Province, the lights were bright.
The dazzling lights told the story of the prosperity and extravagance of this leisurely ancient city.
Yihong Tower, the hero's grave, the money pit.
"Oh, sir, hurry... Xiao Jinhua has been waiting for you all night. If you don't come soon, she'll have to go with someone else."
"Tonight, I'm not here for Xiao Jinhua. Isn't there a fallen noble lady here? I've never played with a noble lady before!"
In a secret room of Yihong Tower, Jiang Yuncai's ten fingers were pierced with silver needles, causing her to scream in agony.
But the torturer stuffed a cloth in her mouth when she screamed, leaving her pain unrelieved.
Her contorted face was tightly wrinkled, the veins on her forehead protruding, and her clothes soaked with fine sweat.
The Madam, fanning herself with a round fan, hummed: "I don't care who you were before, but in my place, you have to listen to me. I tell you to entertain guests, and you must. I have many ways to torture people, and if you want to try them all, you'll probably end up a wreck. You're young, don't you want to be a wreck, do you?"
Jiang Yuncai's tears flowed from the pain, but she was calculating in her heart. She had held out for so long without compromising, enough time had been bought.
Her mother and sister must have gone for help by now.
It was time to "compromise."
She shook her head, throwing the cloth out forcefully, and gasped for breath: "I can... I can entertain guests, but I have a condition. My debut must be different."
"How do you want to be different?"
"Give me a veil. I told you I'm the cousin of the current Imperial Noble Consort, but you didn't believe me. Now, the Emperor, the Imperial Noble Consort, and so many people in the capital know me. Tonight, there might be acquaintances. If I'm recognized, you'll have trouble, and my reputation will be ruined."
The Madam only found it amusing, secretly mocking that the girl must be out of her mind. The human traffickers who sold her clearly said she was just a fallen noble lady with no background.
Recently, many officials had fallen in Qin Province and Guiyang, and it wasn't difficult for those human traffickers to kidnap a noble lady or two.
If she really were the cousin of the Imperial Noble Consort, how could those people dare to kidnap her?
The Madam didn't know that some desperate men, for the large, irresistible wealth, could also pretend to be human traffickers and commit capital crimes.
"No more talk. Just give me a veil, and I'll do as you say."
The Madam took it as her trying to raise her own value with a mysterious gimmick. As long as it could earn money for her Yihong Tower, not too unreasonable requests could be met.
